Program Activities and Initiatives for Healthcare Partners

Collaboration opportunities for healthcare organizations

Your organization’s involvement in the Northwest Pennsylvania Veteran Suicide Prevention Program is an essential link for providing life-saving services to Veterans in Northwestern Pennsylvania.

By collaborating with PERU and our healthcare partners, all activities and initiatives will strengthen existing suicide prevention efforts for vulnerable populations. We are actively recruiting healthcare partners to work with us in meeting our goals and objectives. To learn more about partnership opportunities, please contact us.

What are the various activities and initiatives offered to healthcare partners?

1. Implement change initiatives in healthcare settings.
   • Use the Zero Suicide model, particularly in screening, treating, and referring patients to treatment and other services.
   • Establish and enhance policies and procedures promoting the use of mental and behavioral services among Veterans.
2. Identify and support people at risk. 
   • Train providers on the importance and use of universal suicide risk screening in various healthcare settings.
   • Offer practitioners suicide intervention training, such as ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) and QPR (Question Persuade Refer), to identify individuals at risk and connect them to evidence-based treatments and care.  
   • Integrate brief intervention and care coordination protocols to increase the number of individuals linked to follow-up care to reduce suicide attempts, reattempts, and fatalities.

What services and assistance will participating healthcare partners receive?

As a participating healthcare provider in the Northwest Pennsylvania Veteran Suicide Prevention Program, the PERU team can provide individualized support and consultation in the following areas:

Assessment

Determine a healthcare site’s capacity and technical assistance needs by reviewing all factors: patient demographics, leadership and organizational structure, case management capacities, current collaborations with treatment agencies, and available electronic health records (EHRs).

Planning

Collaborate with healthcare sites to establish a customized strategic plan and data sharing methods to support quality improvement efforts.

Implementation

Provide concierge technical assistance to healthcare sites, develop strategies to maintain program participation, and build collaborative relationships with local treatment/service providers and community partners interacting with Veterans.

Data Analysis

Use EHR data to produce performance reports for each site that facilitates data-informed quality improvement strategies and informs training and education plans.  

Evaluation

Create a rigorous process and outcome evaluation that identifies barriers to and facilitators of program participation and success, highlights areas for additional support, and demonstrates each initiative’s impact on at-risk Veterans in the 15 counties.